like the tides
by windsilk
Summary: Something about her was so beyond, so far from the ordinary that if the light fell in just the right way, he could believe anything about her-even, perhaps, that she was a mermaid. Anthology. —Sasuke/Sakura.
1. the promise

**Title:** the promise (previously known as pinky promised)  
><strong>Author: <strong>seleneswan**  
><strong>**Pairing: **Sasuke/Sakura**  
>Prompts: <strong>"She really does love him, and it's sort of obvious because whenever he comes near her, she turns red like those tomatoes he enjoys."**  
>Word Count: <strong>1734**  
>Summary:<strong> Because they're forever.

**Dedication: **To Soul (IHAVEGotSOULButIAmNoSoldier). Have a happy birthday. (:

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"She really does love him, and it's sort of obvious because whenever he comes near her, she turns red like those tomatoes he enjoys." Ino spoke, matter-of-factly, nodding furiously in agreement with her own statement, informing the masses—or at least, her small group of friends.

"Ino-chan…" Sakura walked up behind her, chubby cheeks reddened. "What are you talking about…?" she spoke softly, fidgeting with the hem of her frilly dress. Her hair was messed up, wind-blown, as if she had been running.

Ino laughed. "You, of course!" She paused, looking Sakura over. "What happened to your bow?"

Sakura's eyes widened, feeling on her head for the bow that was no longer there, quickly forgetting that Ino had been talking about her crush to strange people who she didn't know.

"It's gone!" She gasped, turning around, and got on her hands and knees, searching through the long weeds, not caring that hideous grass stains were forming upon her new dress, the dress that she and her mommy had just gone shopping for.

Ino frowned, confused. "How could you not notice?"

Sakura shook her head, still searching. She scrambled upright, then, and with a knowing look in her eye, took off.

Ino could only stand, baffled, as she watched her friend sped across the flower fields, falling out of sight as she dipped into the valley down below.

_sakura, she just doesn't know what she's got.  
>or how to wield it, for that matter.<em>

_thank goodness I'm there to help her…_

_forbid her maddening ineptitude_

_ever ruin her chances_

_of having that ending_

_of happiness she's always dreamed of._

_I pinky promised her, after all— _

_._

_**the promise**_

**.**

—_that I would always be there for her. _

_to catch her when she fell. _

_because we're best friends, _

_and that's what we do._

_as for the pinky promises,_

_well,_

_those are everlasting._

_and nobody can change that. _

Ino ran after her at a leisurely pace. Often, she was discriminated, despite her infinite wisdom, because of her age: "Oh, honey, I'll tell you more about it when you're grown up."

Ino sniffed, pulling out a daisy from the ground. She _was_ grown up. She was five—that was half way to ten—double digits! She knew what she was talking about when she saw something in someone that told her they were destined for greatness.

Or for love.

Sakura may have been older than her by quite a few months, but Ino mused, decidedly, that she knew more than Sakura did about love and life.

Indeed, Sakura was just a bit more than a failure when it came to crushes.

Ino stumbled down, then, having come to the valley—the dip in the field that rushed downward to meet a steady stream of water—the creek—that ran cut through it. She dug her hands into the soil to keep from falling downward, and carefully made her way downward.

But Sakura was nowhere to be seen.

Ino blinked.

"Ugh, that girl…" Ino said, finally, to no one. "Made me get my hands dirty."

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Sakura ran alongside the creek, splashing water all over her already stained dress, breathing heavily as she increased her speed. And as she came to the mouth of the creek—the big lake—she stopped, bending over from exhaustion.

Her _bow_.

She knew where it was.

She pushed forward, then, through the longer reeds before the lake, weaving around the trees where she had sat earlier, peering out at the water all by her lonesome.

"Looking for something?"

Sakura turned around quickly, so quickly that she stumbled over a root, falling backwards onto her butt, staining the back of her dress an ugly brown from the wet mud. Her face contorted for a second—whether in pain from her fall or in misery for her dress—and her eyes brimmed with tears, before she blinked rapidly, put on a brave face, tears vanishing.

"Mhmm," she said quietly, "I lost my bow."

She gestured to the top of her head where the bright ribbon would normally be. She didn't bother to look up at the person, instead, searching the ground. "I think _he_ has it. Stupid meanie." She pouted.

"Stupid meanie?"

Sakura looked up then, and her face colored. "Oh!" She bit down on her lip, ears reddening and the back of her neck warming uncomfortably. "I…"

"Hn."

She wrung her fingers together, and then pushed herself off of the ground. She was overcome with an initial nervousness before she realized her bow was still Missing In Action. Facing him down with a hard look, her lips tipped downwards at the corners in a frown. "Did you take my bow?" she questioned petulantly.

He sighed. "No."

She eyed him sharply for a moment or two and then nodded, turning around and disappearing within the maze of trees. "Did you see what happened to it?" she asked, not bother to look at him—the _boy_ who had been directly associated with the loss of her most _favorite_ bow.

"Maybe it fell out?"

She whined, then, frustrated. "Fell out _where?_"

He scanned the ground. "Well, it wouldn't be lost if you knew where it was."

She shot him a sharp look, a reprimanding one that looked as if it belonged on a mother, chiding her petulant child. Fixing that look on him for several moments, she sighed, then, and grabbed his elbow, dragging him along. "Well, come help me find it, then, Sasuke-kun!"

Said boy groused, looking rather discomfited with the idea of being _man-handled_ by this little girl, this stunning girl with pink hair who he had just spent the afternoon with—on a spur of the moment. But nonetheless, he followed, albeit somewhat grudgingly, and did put effort into finding the ribbon.

"What color?" he inquired, after a moment of combing through the weeds.

"Huh?" she responded, distracted. "What?"

"The ribbon. What color's the ribbon?"

Sakura blinked, looking up. "Red, obviously. What else could it be?"

Sasuke stared at her for a few seconds. "It could be any other color in the world," he answered quite seriously.

Sakura shook her head. "Nope. Not true. There's a law out there somewhere saying that all hair bows should be red. It's _tradition_."

Sasuke sighed.

And then she spotted it, all of a sudden, floating on the lake that they had sat at. That she had blushed at and fidgeted at. That she had chattered to him at. And that he had finally _noticed_ her at, beneath the shyness and the obtrusive pink.

"It's there!" she exclaimed, pointing with enthusiasm. "Right there!"

Sasuke followed her gaze. "It's in the middle of the lake."

Sakura shrugged, nonchalant. "I can swim really well. My mommy says I'm a natural, like I'm part fish. Like a mermaid, almost!"

And he believed it, too. Something about her was so _beyond, _so out of the ordinary, something so beyond the unusualness of her pink hair that could even make her out to be a mermaid, if it were true.

And with that, she dragged him along some more, asking into the wind that blew past them as they _ran_, "You can swim, right?"

But it didn't matter, because by that time, she had pushed them off of the bank and splashed them into the lake, sending huge ripples across, pushing her ribbon further away. And then she let go of him, pushing towards the center of the lake, and outstretched her arm, fingers gingerly outstretched to grasp the bow with the utmost care, plucking it out of the water.

And then she turned around. Upon seeing Sasuke struggle with the water, her eyes widened. He was kicking valiantly, trying to tread water, but being unable to maneuver his body properly.

"Sasuke-kun!"

She swam back to him quickly enough, treading water with one hand for a brief moment before grasping onto his wrist, trying to tow him to the shore. But the water was strong, and she was only five.

"Kick!" she commanded.

And then, in the urgency of the moment, she pushed her hand against the water, resisting wetness, and pulled herself onto the surface. Eyes widening, she pulled the rest of her body up until she was perched on the surface of the water. And suddenly, everything was much easier. She pulled Sasuke up onto her lap and pushed off of the water, gliding back to shore with ease.

"Mermaid, I tell you. Mermaid," she repeated.

Sasuke dropped himself onto the shore. "I wasn't _drowning_." He felt the need to point out, to regain some of his dignity.

But Sakura didn't react well. "Yet," she muttered, voice desolate.

Sasuke frowned, even as Sakura wrung out the water from her bow, retying it in her hair, pulling it back from her face.

"I thought you were going to die," she pouted, throwing something between a tantrum and a spiel of worry. "I was _worried_."

Sasuke sighed, again.

"Pinky promise me you won't do it again." It wasn't a question.

"Won't do what?"

Sakura's lips turned downward, displeased. "Drown. Make me worry. Whichever. Both."

He rolled his eyes, but still linked pinkies with her. "Satisfied?"

And then Ino barged in, her timing impeccable as always. "Sakur—you foun—oh, hey, Sasuke-kun!" Her attention shifted three ways. "Why are you both wet?"

She eyed the lake, then, and the bow. And lastly, the linked pinkies which had yet to be released. "Pinky promises are forever." She said, solemnly, scratching her arm from a mosquito bite. "I'm glad you didn't get lost, Sakura! I'm going to go. I'll see you later!" she chirped, and then scampered back to where she came from.

A few seconds passed as she left, and Sakura exhaled loudly. "Ino-chan's so _weird_."

Sasuke looked at Sakura for a long moment, saying nothing before abruptly speaking. "Don't tell anyone."

"That she's weird?"

Sasuke examined the dirt very studiously, his ears turning pink. "That I can't swim."

Sakura laughed, a tinkling childish laugh. "I pinky promise," she gestured to their still linked pinkies. She walked away, then, dragging him by the fingers. "Don't worry," she reassured him.

"Promises are forever. And you know something?" she inquired, a wistful tone in her voice. "I think we're forever, too."

"Do you promise?" he asked, staring at the sky before peeking at her face, at her green, green eyes.

And with another laugh, she chirped, "Pinky promise."


	2. the sprint

**Title: **the sprint (previously known as of mutes and ducks)  
><strong>Author: <strong>seleneswan**  
><strong>**Pairing: **Sasuke/Sakura**  
>Prompts: <strong>none**  
>Word Count: <strong>1363**  
>Summary: <strong>As if the humidity wasn't bad enough, now she had the pleasure of having a flock of ducks chasing after her. Great.

**Dedication: **To summer and those trail of duckies I saw on the road.

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**- the sprint -**

I skipped ahead of Sasuke-kun on the path, laughing for no particular reason at all. I always loved walking. It's the best kind of exercise out there, with the exception of maybe Pilates. But today, I decided to skip.

We were walking in the park. It was late spring, and the weather was hot. It had rained earlier in the week, but that had done nothing to lower the temperature, instead creating massive amounts of humidity.

For this reason, I tied my hair up in a ponytail, because god knows what it would look like down, puffing itself outward into _triangle_-hair what with the soupy moisture that we were walking in. Sasuke's hair defied the laws of hair that way. It stuck up in the back in a way that was startlingly similar to a duck's ass, and never seemed to be affected by moisture at all, unless he was literally _in _water.

I could feel my hair swish behind me as a skipped, laughing.

I heard Sasuke make some noise (he tends to make lots of noises) of something between amusement and disappointment. I could practically hear the question: _what are you, five?_

No, I'm sixteen thank you very much. Jeez Sasuke-kun, grow a brain.

Unawares, I had accidentally said that last portion out loud.

I turned slowly, stopping skipping for a moment. He had an eyebrow raised. I interpreted this as a …_what?_

As you can see, Sasuke-kun isn't the most vocal person. I think when he was little, his brother took scissors and snipped away at his vocal chords. Poor Sasuke-kun. He might have to learn Braille if he keeps this up.

Oh, wait, Braille is for deaf people. _No…_wait, it's for blind people.

Never mind.

Sign language, then? No, that's the one for deaf people. But I think it could work.

I ignored his silent question, skipping backwards. But clearly, people were only made to skip forwards.

So, I tripped over myself, plummeting backwards. Mentally, I called. _Sasu-cakes, my hero, catch me as I fall. _

He didn't.

That jerk.

I landed with a soft thud on concrete on my butt.

I frowned unhappily, and that bastard had the nerve to smirk and exhale sharply—Sasuke's version of laughing.

I sniffed contemptuously, bringing myself to my feet, walking away. It was then that I heard the sound.

_Quack!_

Uh.

Needless to say, I was speechless. "Sasuke-kun, I didn't know you spoke duck!" I sputtered after a long moment.

I think he thinks I'm stupid, by the way he looks at me. Way to bruise my delicate ego. These things make sense in my head. It's only after they come out of my mouth that I realize that they may be…just a little dumb.

Whatever.

I'm actually smart, despite what most people think. I'm taking all my AP classes, and I'm a bit of a nerd. But not in the disgusting glasses-with-tape-between-them kind of nerd. I classify myself as an elegant nerd.

So when Sasuke looked at me as if I was losing my mind, I was forced to take action. "_There was a quacking noise!" _ I insisted.

Maybe Sasuke will need sign language, after all. He's hard of hearing already, and he's not even old.

Thinking that maybe it was an _actual _duck, I looked around, but found nothing. Frustrated, I turned around for only to hear the noise again. _Quack!_

This time, I turned around and poked Sasuke in the chest, hard. "If you are messing with me by making strange quacking noises, I swear…" I trailed off.

_Quack! _

I looked past Sasuke's shoulder, and lo behold, hidden behind him was a trail of small white ducklings, and none of them were the least bit ugly. I pushed him aside without a second thought and crouched down.

How. Adorable.

"Sasuke-kun, you had ducks following you! I told you I wasn't crazy!"

He made a noise of irritation (he really does make noises often) and walked past me.

He left me.

I was swallowed by a surge of irritation before twisting around and glaring at his back. Whatever, who needs him anyways? It's just me and my…

I turned back around to face the ducks, only to find that they vanished.

Great, so it was just me.

I turned back around, ready to catch up with Sasuke when I saw the small line trailing after him quickly.

"Sasuke-kun…" I called softly. He turned, sighing. "I think they think you're their mother."

Sasuke, finally, decided to use his voice. "_What?_"

My eyes widened in understanding. "Ohmygosh, Sasu-cakes, your head looks like a duck's behind, and so they think that you're a _duck!_"

"That is the most ridiculous thing—"

He never did get to finish that sentence. (I was a little disappointed. That might just have become the longest sentence he ever spoke.

I'd have to go tell his mother of the achievement. She'd be so _proud_.)

But just as he was possibly making a personal record, the momma duck appeared out of nowhere, swooping down, flapping its wings in anger and hostility…and attacked Sasuke's face.

I was devastated. If his face got ruined, I might just have had to break up with him.

Kidding!

Sort of.

But more than anything, I was amused. Sasuke let out a strangled sound as the duck clawed at his face with webbed feet and pecked his head. The little baby ducks, realizing that Sasuke wasn't a duck, joined the mother in her siege upon Sasuke.

They, in turn, started pecking his feet and flapping their tiny little flightless wings in retaliation.

Ah, Sasuke. The duck-napper.

It was the most panicked I think I've ever seen him. He stumbled backwards, waving his arms around like noodles but not really and kept making that strangled sound.

I watched.

(Does that make me a horrible person? For just watching? Eh. Well.)

Yeah, this is payback for not catching me, buster. I cheered on the ducks instead.

"Yes! Go momma-ducky!"

The ducks froze, and I stared apprehensively. Maybe cheering wasn't the best idea.

They stopped attacking Sasuke, and he attempted to conceal the panicked look that was on his face with one of irrataion. The quacked to each other, and then turned, making a beeline for me.

My eyes widened, and I sprinted.

"_Sasuke-kuuuuun!" _ I screeched. The following lines were my exact thoughts: _what if the ducks eat my hair? What if they eat me? WHAT IF THESE ARE PEOPLE-EATING DUCKS? HOW CRUEL. _

And then I proceeded to shriek like an insane person, running around and flailing my arms.

When I looked back over my shoulder, Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

_What. The. Hell._

Fine, go save yourself you stupid good-for-nothing bastard! Leave me to the shark—ducks, why don't you?

While these thoughts were running through my mind, the attack of the ducks stopped. They started squabbling with something else, and for a moment, I had sheer relief as my feet began to slow into a lighter run and my eyes slipped shut in relief.

And then I ran/fell into the lake.

See, the park that we walking in and that I was skipping in and that we were running in terror in has this lake, big and gorgeous, right at the middle. Thus, the ducks. Because you know, water equals ducks. And fish. And other things.

For a moment, all I could see was this dark murky blue grey and I mentally slapped myself for run-falling into a lake. I spluttered and coughed as I resurfaced, and rubbed my eyes furiously to rid them of water. And when I finally pried my eyes open, there was a hand, outstretched for me. Sasuke's hand.

He pulled me out of the water, and I collapsed into his arms, consequently getting him wet as well.

"You're a little late, knight in shining armor. You were _supposed_ to catch me when I fell, both times." I remarked sourly.

"I'm learning." He murmured.

"I smell like fishy water—ahhh!" I shrieked, and dragged him with me away from the water's edge.

_The ducks restarted their pursuit! _Dear god, they were going to eat us for dinner.

And together we ran.


End file.
